fiscal cliff right now. for his part, the president travelled to pennsylvania today arguing congress should pass the middle class tax cuts right now set to expire on january 1st. but republicans say that's a no go. any deal needs to have tax cuts for everyone. i talked about a stand off earlier on a democratic senator that's been waying in behind the scenes. joining me now is senator max baucus, senator, a very busy week, not a lot of progress to show for it. as you well know now, republicans have soundly rejected the offer coming from the white house. even calling it absurd. this offer, do you view it as a serious offer? >> i do. i think we're in the initial stages. there are about 30 days left before the so-called cliff hits us. i think in about a week, we'll get down to serious negotiations. >> why a week? why not now? many would say we're way beyond opening bids. >> i agree, i think we should start talking now, the president and the speaker should do so, but for whatever reasons, it's a little slower. i